Racism is baked into the bones of America. Even after perceived progress due to the courage, tirelessness, and perseverance of so many, including Dr. King, racism persists in the very systems that this country is built on. In all the ugliness of 2020, thousands marched for the same injustices, the same changes that Dr. King wrote and spoke about over five decades ago. Because racism never left; it’s been twisted and reformed to fit into what we think are socially acceptable channels today. The saying, “they tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds” applies to racism and racists as much as it applies to those who are…
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Gluten Free Neapolitan Pound Cake with Neapolitan Glaze
There’s something delightful about the Neapolitan trio: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry smushed together into perfect bands of ice cream or cake or candy, layers of those three most classic (at least here) flavors that you never have to choose from again. I remember only ever eating one flavor out of the tub of Neapolitan ice cream as a kid, which, looking back, seems like such a bummer because the three flavors together really are perfectly, simplistically lovely. But hey! A tub of Neapolitan meant whatever mood you were in, whether it was straight forward vanilla, silky chocolate, or summery strawberry, you were covered. After a quick bit of “research” (one…
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Gluten Free Spiced Pear Cupcakes with Vanilla Pear Tea
Tis the season for spices in EVERYTHING, and we’re not mad about it. There’s something so cozy and comforting about the ethereal mix of nutmeg+cinnamon+ginger+allspice+cloves, and any combination of any two of them really, in baked goods, warm fall drinks, and in roasts or stuffing. In this case, we’ve dumped heaping teaspoons of them into these gluten free spiced pear cupcakes with a mapley/spiced buttercream. Pear is one of those delicate, nearly-not-there flavors that are usually best highlighted in slender slices on their own, especially when they’re perfectly just ripe and cut like butter. But we really wanted to figure out a way of putting them in cake form, or…
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Gluten Free Neapolitan Cupcakes
Anyone else remember getting giant tubs of cheap Neapolitan ice cream at the grocery store as a kid? Some were definitely better than others, and half the time I’m pretty sure I just scooped through the chocolate layer, leaving the less exciting vanilla to the right. But it was glorious – simply having the choice of not one, not two, but THREE ice cream flavors in one bucket? Incredible. And a good strawberry ice cream can’t be beat – the ones with threads of real strawberries throughout, heightened by the heaps of pink dye that made this seem like the perfect summer treat. Bowls or cones, whatever you chose, were…
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Gluten Free Raspberry Vanilla Bean Layer Cake
Over thirty fires have cropped up across California in the past five days, due to late summer heat waves, high winds, and unexpected lightning and thunder storms. Situated in down-town San Francisco, we’re usually safely far from the path of any wildfires, and only have to worry about smoke-tinged air cloaking the peninsula, blown across the state. But this time they’re even closer to home. There’s a strange cognitive dissonance when fire season starts – while admiring the nectarine-orange sunrises and movie-filter sunsets we’re worried about friends and family around the state and wary of the flash-fire devastation that tore so many from their homes in years past. If our…
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Yogurt Cranberry Bread
We heralded the brilliance (and tartness) of cranberries in last week’s post (cranberry clafoutis) so we’ll refrain from repeating ourselves here. Instead we’ll just rave about the moistness (sorry) of this yogurt cranberry bread, which, yes, also contains bright crimson pops of color and fall crispness, but which also is a comfort food of the season and deserves to be your next baking adventure. If you’re celebrating turkeys and pies and all the drowsy effects of tryptophan in two weeks, this is another recipe to add to the Thanksgiving dessert table. Quick breads have a sort of humble elegance to them: rustic and simple, but with often more heightened flavors…
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Gluten Free Vanilla Almond Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream
Food could sincerely be an entirely new love language. Aside from the other ways people express their affection, making food for that special someone, or someones, is truly one of the greatest pleasures in life. At least for me. It’s a love that was instilled in me and my sister at a very young age by our mother, who takes her southern roots to heart whenever anyone new walks in the door or someone expresses the tiniest hint of hunger. Food is where the home is and where the heart can share its deepest and most inexpressible fondness for others. This gluten free carrot cake is one of those simple,…
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Gluten Free Vanilla Raspberry Pancakes
I’ve tried a million different gluten free pancake recipes. It seems like pancakes should be one of the simplest breakfast items to make gluten free, but you’d be surprised how sneakily dense or crumbly some turn out. Or that telltale taste of rice flour just is a bit too noticeable and you need a different combination of starches, powders, and flavorings. These are not the end all be all gluten free pancakes, because there are so many different variables to optimize for in pancakes: fluffiness, taste, chewiness, size, etc. But! These are some of my new favorite pancakes, and they have a twist that most other recipes do not: the…
